Entourage season 1 recap

Ep.5 The Script and the Sherpa

The all-boys club has an unwelcome visitor in Vince’s new girl, Fiona (Beau Garrett who if memory serves correctly will easily still rank as one of the show’s hottest despite appearing so early on in the series). Fiona is changing everything from food to the way Vince considers his new projects. E meets Josh Weinstein (Joshua LeBar), a former assistant to Ari, now aspiring agent who attempts to lure Vince into the fold by bringing to their attention ‘Queens Blvd,’ a role perfectly suited for the budding star.

The boys struggle to find a new weed provided thanks to a drought and Fiona’s Sherpa (Val Kilmer in a weird cameo) is happy to oblige while indirectly helping Vince land the title role in the film. The episode’s best moment comes when The Sherpa tells Drama he was a big fan of his long since cancelled show ‘Viking Quest’ and asks about the next season.

Best exchange:
The Sherpa: Johnny Drama?
Drama: Yeah, I’m Johnny Drama.
The Sherpa: I’m a fan man. When’s the next season of ‘Viking Quest’ dude?
Drama: Man, we got canceled seven years ago!
The Sherpa: Oh. Bummer.

Episode rating: 6 This one has never done much for me beyond Garrett’s high level of hotness and the introduction of the smarmy Weinstein. Devoting most of the focus to the boys’ weed search doesn’t really click and this is the first episode that was just kinda there. Not a great way to start the second disc.

Ep. 6 – Busey and the Beach

Celebrity cameo: Gary Busey as a spaced-out weird art enthusiast when he’s not in front of the camera

While Ari is excited about a new batch of projects, Vince and E want to know about the holdup with ‘Queens Blvd.’ Drama meets with Adam Davies (Jordan Belfi), a junior level exec at Ari’s company about being his agent, but finds he’s nowhere close to being a Hollywood mover and shaker.

As a favor to Shauna, the guys attend an exhibit hosted by Busey, which results with Turtle getting on his bad side and Drama questioning his career path after a run-in with one of his acting peers. Josh Weinstein tries to further worm his way into Vince and E’s confidence by hosting a beach party and inviting the gang along to talk ‘Queens Blvd.’

E’s insistence on using Emily as a go-between with Ari ruins their budding relationship and Ari ditches his son’s birthday party to put Josh in his place and restore Vince’s faith in his efforts.

Best rant:
Ari: Does your boss know your using his house for a party? Cause I just put a call into him. Yeah, we went to school together. I helped cheat on his economics final or he wouldn’t have graduated so he owes me big-time. You know another class I took at Harvard? Business Ethics. I don’t steal other people’s mother f@!$@g clients, but in your case I’m going to make an exception. I’m going to take everyone; your B-level sitcom stars, your reality-TV writers, when I’m done with you, you’re gonna be repping sideshow freaks. You need Jo-Jo the Dog-Face-B!@!-Boy? Call Josh Weinf!#k, the lightweight pen-stealing f!@@face.

Episode rating: 7 The E/Emily relationship was over before it really got interesting as there seemed to be a lot more storytelling potential with them. Busey became this weird recurring character on the show and this was his first appearance, but outside of Ari’s legendary tirade there isn’t a whole lot happening.

Ep.7 The Scene

With ‘Queens Blvd’ a go, Vince has to approve the studio’s choice for director — Billy Walsh (Rhys Coiro), a brilliant, but temperamental Sundance award winner who sneers at the traditional way of getting things done in Hollywood. Billy instantly bonds with Vince, but he’s leery of E’s corporate mentality.

Billy makes a massive rewrite of the script, but one scene has Vince and E seriously questioning if Billy is the right man for the job while Drama and Turtle attempt to have some quality time with two strippers.

Best line (tie):
Billy: Yeah man, ya are [a suit]. You just don’t know it yet. 
Ari (talking to Mrs. Ari after he took a Viagra before taking a business call): I’m ready to go baby. It’s like R. Kelly at recess here. Baby where are you going?

Episode rating: 8 Billy would prove to be a brilliant wildcard addition to the cast and become the de facto fifth man in Vince’s crew as he embodied the wunderkind filmmaker who becomes obsessed with their own genius — a stark contrast to the more humble, laidback Vince .

Ep.8 New York

Celebrity cameo: Larry David as a disgruntled client of Ari’s and friend of Drama’s and Scarlett Johansson as Vince’s new crush he seeks E’s help in arranging once he gets to New York.

The boys are preparing to go back to New York for shoot ‘Queen’s Blvd,’ but have to put their affairs in order. For Vince that means saying goodbye like only he can to his numerous girl friends while E and Kirsten agree to give their relationship another shot just as Emily becomes seriously frosty toward him. Drama gets an offer for an audition on a pilot, but his intolerance for cell phones ruins his chances and Turtle scams some spending money by hosting a farewell party for Vince.

Egged on by Kirsten questioning his dependant relationship with Vince, E wants to officially become Vince’s manager even if Ari and Vince wonder if he can fully handle the job.

Best line:
Ari: The point is that he is an insecure f@#k, like all beautiful-but-handed-everything-on-a-silver-platter people. He doesn’t trust anyone in this world but you. You’ve been born into royalty baby. You know it. Now you just gotta be thankful, and wear the crown.

Episode rating: 8 Vince having Turtle and Drama sit in on his business meeting with E was a nice touch, but this definitely had a sense of tying up the loose ends from the previous episodes and the main plot of E potentially leaving Vince seemed like a big bluff to cause some tension. But was there any doubt he was going to turn his back on his friend?

Season rating: 8.5 After a strong start, the first season loses some steam in the second half, but pivotal characters make their debuts and Entourage is off to a fun ride.

Season 1 is a breezy introduction to the world of Vinnie Chase that thankfully wasn’t the high point of the series with the best yet to come despite a number of early gems to get it started.

Grab Season 1 Entourage: Season 1

Want the whole series? Pick it up here: Entourage: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]
Entourage: The Complete Series

Photo Credit: HBO